'She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms'

I happen to stumble across this delightful poem by Emily Dickinson;

She sweeps with many-colored brooms,

And leaves the shreds behind;

Oh, housewife in the evening west,

Come back, and dust the pond!

You dropped a purple ravelling in,

You dropped an amber thread;

And now you've littered all the East

With duds of emerald!

And still she plies her spotted brooms,

And still the aprons fly,

Till brooms fade softly into stars -

And then I come away.

Although not literally referring to coloured brooms, it still got me thinking of the different types of brooms there are. I find great satisfaction in sweeping the floors, perhaps it's a really quick way to tidy up a room (I'm afraid I'm drawn to short-cuts). But different brooms have different uses, and we certainly don't need one of each. So here is a list of brooms and what they're good for, so that next time you're out looking for a broom, you'll know which ones will suit your needs best ... and you thought a broom was a broom? So did I!

1. Indoor Push Broom
This is a wide broom which comes either with synthetic or soft natural bristles. These are great for large indoor areas, and as the name suggests, you push it along. Use long smooth strokes keeping the bristles on the floor as much as possible. If you have rough uneven floor, use a natural bristle broom with stiffer bristles, whereas soft synthetic bristles will be better on a smooth floor surface.

2. Corn Broom
Corn brooms are great for rough surfaces, they will gather leaves, gravel and stones, but wont collect finer particles of dirt. Use this broom on rough stone floors, in the garage, on patios or in mud rooms.

3. Angled Broom

A synthetic broom where the bristles are at an angle. Great for tight spaces, and under the table sweep-ups. This is a broom you can use for those quick daily clean ups.

4. Whisk broom
A natural whisk broom is usually a small triangular broom used for whisking away the dirt on upholstery, carpets, and in hard to reach areas. Synthetic whisk brooms are useful for sweeping up piled dirt into a dust pan. I use a course whisk broom to sweep dirt off our carpeted stairs if I'm not in the mood lug the vacuum cleaner with me.

5. Hearth broom

Similar to a whisk broom but a bit longer, and as the name states you clean the fireplace hearth with it. It's best to choose a hearth broom where the bristles are closer together than that of a whisk broom.

6. Rubber broom

You might have seen one of these in a hairdressers because of their static nature, so this is a handy one if you have a moulting pet. They can be used for dry sweeping, wet spills, carpets and as a bonus are easy to clean. I wouldn't use one of these as my only broom, because I'm rather partial to a soft natural bristle broom, but they are very useful.

7. Electric broom
Considered by many as the 'lazy' broom, but really it's very handy in houses with large hard floor surfaces and wonderful for people with bad backs or mobility problems. If you are considering one, a cordless version is best.

8. Outdoor Push Broom
Great for sweeping up on outdoor paths, driveways and patios where pushing the dirt is more effective than gathering it. Look for one with two holes on the base so that the angle of the stick can be switched around for even ware.

And if the basic plastic/wooden broom and accessories just don't do it for you- take a look at this exciting selection of sweeping goods. Goodness, who knew brooms could be exciting!?

Left to right:

Row 1: These spotty brooms will cheer up your housework, from Love Etc; A wonky handled broom from the crookedshoppe, brilliant; A very pretty vintage dustpan from Shopambrosia.

Row 2: Mini whisk brooms from Justamere tree farm; A pretty pink and green broom available from Betterware; A King and Queen dust pan and brush set from the French company Pylones.

Row 3: A cheery dustpan available in different patterns from Decorative Things; Ooh, a 5 slot broom organiser from Organize-It; And finally Palumba on Etsy do these sweet children's brooms, get those kids sweeping up their crumbs

That's it for now. I'll be posting gain in a couple of days time, watch out for my post on how we can clean and organise our refrigerators.

Hope to see you soon

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